A march for better wages for janitors and retail employees is likely to draw dozens of protesters to a location down the street from St. Paul’s bustling Midway Marketplace at 11 a.m. Friday.

As of Thursday evening, more than 380 Facebook users had indicated they’d be attending the protest at University Avenue and North Griggs Street. Another 125 users were listed as “maybe” attending.

The Facebook invitation does not say whether the marchers will attempt to enter the shopping district, which is home to Target, Walmart, a Cub Foods and other retailers.

“The workers who make Black Friday and holiday shopping happen are often forced to work for poverty wages,” reads the Facebook invite.

The rally, organized in part by St. Paul-based TakeAction Minnesota and the Service Employees International Union, is expected to draw members of CTUL, a janitors’ advocacy group. The CTUL has also planned to protest from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday outside the Target store on Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

The CTUL had set a Thanksgiving Day strike deadline with the contractors they work for to clean 40 major retailers, including Target.

Frederick Melo came to the Pioneer Press in 2005 and brings an aggressive East Coast attitude to St. Paul beat reporting. He spent nearly six years covering crime in the Dakota County courts before switching focus to the St. Paul mayor's office, city council, and all things neighborhood-related, from the city's churches to its parks and light rail. A resident of Hamline-Midway, he is married to a Frogtown woman. He Tweets manically at @FrederickMelo

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